ABSTRACT
The process of urban change does not only occur on the outskirts of the city, but also in the inner cities in the form of infilling and alterations to existing housing. An observed trend in most cities of Ghana is the concentration and development within the city centers. Using the Wa Municipality as a case study, this study seeks to examine the dynamics of inner-city developments. A stratified sample of residential areas and a systematic sampling of households were employed for the selection of respondents, and data were collected using questionnaires, surveys, and key informant interviews. The findings indicate that inner city congestion goes through a series of informal process that leads to dilapidation without statutory approvals. The nature of expansion varies but largely takes the form of re-engineering of existing houses to create sanitary areas through self-help initiatives that have the potential to create social and spatial injustices through encroachment in public spaces, hence, changing the city structure from an infancy stage to a saturated stage. The results therefore suggest that there is the need for concerted efforts by city authorities to prioritize inner cities in their quest to manage urban development. It reinforces the need to strengthen their oversight responsibilities to control land use within the city centers to improve on sustainable livability of inner cities using smart land management strategies.
